The invention relates to learning how to water ski.
In water skiing, it is very difficult for a beginner to learn to water ski, because most beginners use a deep water start. The phrase “deep water start” refers to a way in which a water skier starts skiing from a position in which the majority of the skier's body and the skier's skis are under water, and the skis are positioned nearly vertically in the water. In order to ski, the skier must transition the skis from this vertical orientation to an orientation in which the skis are parallel with the surface of the water (planed out), and the skier must stand upright above the water on the skis. This transition from down in the water to on top of the water is not only difficult to master, but is also physically tiring. In addition, in the deep water position the skier's skis must be kept upright and parallel to each other, and the skier's ski tips must be kept out of the water during the entire transition from the underwater position to the upright skiing position. Failure to achieve these objectives usually results in either a face plant (i.e., the skier falls face down into the water) or failure to launch (e.g., the skier is dragged underwater), both of which are quite unpleasant.
To assist first time skiers in this process, it is common for a parent or an experienced water skier to stand in shallow water (usually less than 5 feet in depth) and hold the novice skier in position as the boat begins to pull the skier forward. Rarely does the novice skier get up on his or her first attempt; usually it takes many attempts to master the technique. By the time a novice skier has failed a few times, the skier has usually travelled a distance in the water such that the depth of the water in which the skier is located is too deep for another person to provide assistance to the skier. As a result, the skier must attempt to start without assistance. Such attempts are often futile. At this point, the skier frequently gives up.
Various devices are marketed as useful for training novice water skiers. One device is an inflatable, towable craft. The skier is supposed to stand on the craft and be towed in an upright position. These training devices do not allow the skier to wear actual water skis or a wakeboard while standing on the craft, and there is no space to accommodate skis or a wakeboard. As a result, such devices do not ultimately teach the skier how to ski, but merely allow the skier to experience the balance required to remain standing while being towed across a body of water on an inflatable craft.
The present inventors have discovered a need for a process that makes learning to water ski easier using actual water skis or a wakeboard.